Tension and let-off device for looms



(No Mddl.) 2 sheets-Sheet 2. v

- 0. W. SOHAUM.

TENSION AND LET-OPP DEVICE FOR LOOMS. o. 550,294.

Patented Nov. 26, 13.95;

Wii'riasszs:

1 ANDREW EGRMMM.PNOTO-UTNO.WAS"INGTUN.I16.

' thereto.

OTTO w. SOHAUM, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

TENSION AND LET-OFF DEVICE FOR LOOMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 550,294, dated November26, 1895.

Application filed May 20, 1891. SerialNo.393, L76- (N0 model.) i

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OTTO SCHAUM, of the city and county of Philadelphia,State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful ImprovedTension and Let-Off Devicesfor Looms, of which the following is a trueand exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improved construction and arrangement of thetension and let-off devices of looms, especially those designed forweaving ribbons or other narrow ware, and has for its object togenerally improve the construction of this part of the loom mechanism,and more particularly to provide a beam frame or rack which is soarranged as to be adapted for use with almost any width of warp made onsuch looms, instead of having to be rearranged or altered, as iscommonly the case with the beam-racks commonly used.

The nature of my improvements will be best understood as described inconnection with the drawings, in which they are illustrated, and inwhich Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of a loom providedwith my improvements; Fig. 2, an elevation of a portion of thebeamframe; Fig. 3, a perspective view showing a warp-beam or spool inconnection with my improved let-off and my improved brake-cord. Fig. 4is an enlarged view showing a portion of one of the beam-brackets andillustrating the way in which the brake-cord is secured Fig. 5 is across-section on the line 1 2 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6, an enlarged viewshowing my preferred mode of connecting the two levers of the let-offdevice, and Fig. 7 a plan view of the device shown in Fig. 6.

A is the frame of the loom; B, the lay; C, the reeds; D, the heddles; E,the shed; F, the take-up; G, glass rods over which the warps pass to theheddles.

H and H are the warp-beam brackets, which are arranged in two rows,those in the lower row being indicated by the letter H and those in theupper row by the letter H. Preferably, and for reasons hereinafterstated, the two rows of brackets are staggered with respect to eachother, as shown in Fig.2, and the brackets are preferably formed with anarrow neck beneath each beam, as indicated at H 1, I, and I arecross-beams of the frame to which the brackets H and H are secured. Bystaggering the two rows of brackets, as described above, spaces J J,&c., are left between each adjoining pair of brackets, by which theoperator is given abundant room to reach in between them, and thenarrowing of the bracket beneath the beam is intended to enlarge thisspace, so as to give the operator more freedom of movement. On eachbeamsupporting bracket bearings K are provided for the journals of thewarp-beams, and, as shown, the brackets are provided beneath each pairof bearings K with projecting arms K, situated beneath the bearings K ata distance therefrom less thanthe radius of the rims of the beams andextending out so as to provide a bearing at their ends, which will bebeyond the rim of thebeam-spools. On the back of the brackets and justabove the narrowed necks H where they occur, faces h are provided, andin or close to such faces is formed a threaded perforation 72, in whichworks a thumb-screw L, the function of which is to support and actuate aclamping-plate L, having preferably vertical grooves Z, and which actsin conjunction with the plane h.

M M, &c. are the beams, having a spool M, upon which the warps arewound, heads or rims M M and journals M which rest in the bearings K ofthe brackets. The rims M are peripherally grooved in the usual way.

N is the automatic tension and let-off device, consisting of a lever N,having journals N ,which are supported in thefends of the arms K, saidlever supporting a roller N at its outer end and being counterweightedat its inner end, the counterweighting being effected by extending armsN beyond the journals N and securing to such arms a weight sufficient tosubstantially balance the lever.

N is the usual coacting weighted lever of tension devices of the generalcharacter. to which mine belongs; N an adjustable weight supported onsaid lever; N ,'a roller j ournaled at its end; N upwardly-extendingfingers which, when the lever N is drawn up, come in contact with facesN of the lever N. This lever may supported in any of the usualwell-known waysfbut preferably is pivoted at N to the ends N of thelever N in such a way that the weight of the said lever N acts as thecounterweight to balance the lever N.

The tension device is applied to the warpbeams in the usual way by meansof brakecords secured to the lever N and extending over the groovedperipheries of the end plates M of the beam. These cords in my deviceare secured in position by means of the clamping-plate L, and preferablyinstead of using two cords, as is commonly the practice, I use a singlecord 0, having hooks O O at its end which engage in perforations formedin the lever N, and which when applied to the beam as shown in Fig. 3,has a loop extending down on the back of the bracket between the plane71. and the clamp L. It will be seen that by simply placing the fingerin the loop and drawing down on it the proper arrangement of the let-offlever with regard to the beam can be readily effected and with aperfectly even tension on both sides of the spool or beam, and this ismaintained by simplyturning the thumb-screw L and clamping the cord, asshown in Fig. 5.

P P P, &c., represent the warp-threads drawn from each beam, the threadpassing from the beam over the roller N, then under the roller N andthence, as shown in the drawings, over a series of spools R R, 800., ofwhich I prefer to provide one for each beam, and which are arranged inseries above each bracket, each series of spools corresponding to thenumber of beams supported in the bracket. After passing over thespools,which are preferably curved so as to have their outer edgeshigher than their center, the warp,- threads pass under the glass rods Gand thence to the heddles. I have found that by arranging the bracketsII II as shown and described it is practicable to cant the warpthreadssomewhat on their passage from the spools to the rods, so as to providefor different arrangements of warp threads corresponding to the variouswidths of the material to be woven.

It is, I believe, an original feature of my construction to arrange theleft-01f levers on the inside of the warp-beam framc-that is to say, sothat they extend toward the shed and lay. By so arranging them I avoidthe inconvenience of havingthem extend out in front of the frame and ofhaving to carry the warp-threads over the top of the frame; and I amalso enabled to rig the loom for work with a less expenditure of thematerial. By my arrangement it will be seen that abundant room isprovided between the brackets to enable the operator to insert his armwhen it is necessary for him to get at the let-off levers or thewarpthreads passing over them.

By supporting the let-off levers in bearings which in a vertical lineare closer to the beam: bearings than the distance equalto the radius ofthe beam-aims, but which in actual dis tance are further from the beainbearings than the said radial length, I am enabled, as will at once beseen, to place the beams closer together and thus to use more beams fora given size of beam-rack than has heretofore been practicable. It isconvenient and advisable to secure the let-off levers to an arm K,extending out from the brackets 1-1, but it is possible, of course, topivot them in an independent bracket or frame.

In let-01f devices of a generally similar kind to that shown anddescribed by me, the upper lever N has heretofore not beencounterbalanced, and therefore when the lower lever N has been allowedto fall for some distance and is then again drawn up the tension isaltered or changed as soon as the said lower lever comes in contact withand raises the upper lever, because in addition to its own weight theweight of the upper lever is then added to the strain upon thewarp-threads. The result of this difference in the tensions is an inequality in the breadth of the ribbon woven by the loom, but bycouuterbalancing the upper lever it will be obvious that no change inthe tension will take place when the said counterbalanced lever isbrought into play, and the obvious advantage of effecting thecounterbalancing by the weight of the lower lever need not be commentedupon.

Having now described my invention, what I claim new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination with brackets and a warp beam supported thereon, of alet off lever, a single brake cord 0 arranged to fasten at its ends tothe let off lever and having its central loop below a clamp bar L andsaid clamp bar L arranged to grip the brake cords on each side of theloop substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination with a warp beam and let off lever, of a clamp bar Land a single brake cord 0 adapted to be gripped by the clamp bar L andhaving hooks O at its ends to engage the let off lever and having itscentral loop below clamp L, substantially as and for the purposespecified.

3. The combination with a warp beam of a let off device consisting of apivoted leverN to which the brake cords are attached, and a coactinglever N pivoted to the rearwardly extending arms N of the lever N so asto counterbalance it.

l. The combination with a warp beam of a let-otf device consisting of apivoted lever N having heel extensions N and a coacting weighted lever Npivoted at one end on said extensions so as to counterbalance lever Nand adapted to be sustained at the other end by the warp threads.

v OTTO. S GI'I A UM it-nesses GEORGE HOUSE, JOSHUA MArLAeK, Jr.

